


Drown Down

by AshSeven



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, M/M, Otabek is clueless, Yuri tries, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 20:16:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13372281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshSeven/pseuds/AshSeven
Summary: Why wasn’t he using his gills? Otabek frowned, watching from his rock as the landman splashed and spluttered, fighting with the water to keep his head up and yelling half choked gibberish. Flailing like that wasn’t going to work, not for long anyway; it wasn’t like his two-fins did anything to help him stay up - not as short and thin as they were. He didn’t understand landmen at all.





	Drown Down

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of titaniumplatedspine sending me a meme at 2am one morning. So big thanks to her, Chenna, and ded_i_am_just_ded for encouraging this madness :)

Why wasn’t he using his gills? Otabek frowned, watching from his rock as the landman splashed and spluttered, fighting with the water to keep his head up and yelling half choked gibberish. Flailing like that wasn’t going to work, not for long anyway; it wasn’t like his two-fins did anything to help him stay up - not as short and thin as they were. He didn’t understand landmen at all.

Edging around his rock, ignoring the jagged points as they dug into his palms, Otabek inched closer to the landman, keeping just his eyes above the water. Was he sick, or hurt? That was the only reason he could think of for him to be panicking this much and fighting the water so furiously. It was so simple to switch between gill and nose breathing. He should really just climb back up into his _boat_ , if he didn’t like the water. He scoffed, flicking his tail as a small wave came up behind him. It crashed right into the landman’s face, and he spluttered, coughing loudly, and disappeared under the water for a few moments. Otabek held onto his rock, craning his neck to see the cloud of sunlight coloured hair roll in the waves. He didn’t expect him to resurface sounding like he didn’t even have gills, then go under again, and not come back up. Otabek’s spine tingled from his shoulder blades down to the tips of his adipose fins. Something wasn’t right about this. He ducked under the water, spying the landman now scarily still, his eyes shut and his mouth open and leaking bubbles. His skin was deathly pale, even in the dim light of dying sun. That was definitely not right.

He ignored the vicious stinging in his left arm and darted forward with a single, powerful flick of his tail. He wrapped his good arm around the landman's waist. These creatures were _tiny_ , so fragile with their two-fins. This one was barely half his length, and he wasn’t boasting of any largeness to begin with. He got him back above the water, hoping that he would start spluttering again, but instead his head just dropped forward back into the water with a defeated splash.

Well, if this wasn’t just a load of piss? It was at times like these that Otabek wished that landmen and mermen still kept their distance from one another. Now what the hell was he supposed to do?

All he had been doing was trying to find a shallow spot to rest. He knew that there were some secluded beachy areas nearby, but he had to swim past one of the landmen pod’s to get to them. He could have done it undetected; it was never worth the trouble to engage them, but for some reason or other he had stuck his head above the surface and had seen this one weave clumsily around on the edge of a smooth, white, dolphin-skinned ship and fall into the water. And now he was stuck with this. He mistakenly flared his gills, wincing when the dry air hit the sensitive flesh inside of the slits and made sure they were firmly shut before growling in exasperation.

Land, he should get the landman back to land.

Sand was rough; he hated the feeling of it without the cushion of surrounding water. Air was another thing he wasn’t a fan of. It was so dry, hot, it made his eyes burn, and his skin feel like it was cracking. He felt like a clumsy oaf out of the water, his tail was mostly useless and impossibly heavy. Still, he managed to drag the landman onto the shore, thanking the gods of the sea and sky that there wasn’t anyone else around to watch him wiggle like a seal in the seafoam. Taking a second to catch his breath he stretched out his tail, splashing the tips of his caudal fins the the swash from the waves. His arm was still throbbing lightly, but the bleeding had stopped and the salt had done it some good, even if it had stung badly. He glanced at the landman out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t moved at all, laying on his back with his head bent awkwardly with his hair splayed around him like an octopus. He wasn’t moving, but he was beautiful. Otabek had no idea what to do. He could already feel his stomach tightening in fear; what if he was dead? Had he just watched him die? He should have acted sooner. He breathed in deeply to calm himself; he needed to think. And of course, _that_ would be a good place to start. Was he breathing?

He rolled over onto his hip, reaching over to the landman. His coverings were soden with water and clung to him like skin, so it was easy to see that his chest wasn’t moving. A tingle of panic shot down Otabek’s spine, his scales felt like they were standing up. He bit his lip, the tiny pinpricks of his teeth helped to ground him somewhat. Okay, Otabek, he straightened the landman’s head, tilting his chin upwards. Think. He had swallowed water through his mouth; he didn’t know anything about landman bodies, but sometimes fry swallowed water before they got the hang of breathing with their gills. Okay, that was a start. But what was he supposed to _do_ ? Get the water out? _How_? He racked his brain for anything that helped. How were the fry dealt with? He swore softly running his hands along the landman’s throat, careful to keep from scratching him with his nails. Otabek nearly recoiled and his eyes darted to see if his hands had felt correctly. His neck was smooth, slightly warm - so that was a good sign - but there were no gill slits. Nothing from his shoulders up to his ears, it was all just unbroken skin - no frilled slits, or depressions, or raised edges. He swore a bit louder.

Okay, Otabek felt the blood drain from his face. Okay, so if he didn’t have gills, then that meant he _couldn't_ breathe underwater and that he _had_ taken quite a bit of water into his lungs. There was no way a landman could have the same lung capacity as a whale or dolphin. Water was obviously dangerous to them - with how small they were. It needed to come out now.

Pressing a palm to the landman’s chest, he prayed to the gods that this would work. He pressed firmly against the centre of his ribs, vaguely remembering a pod mother doing the same, then more or less breathing air into the choking fry’s mouth with her own. He tried to do that too, as his heart began to race and he felt cold dread seeping into his fingertips and fins. He took care not to accidentally nick his lips with his teeth and breathed out deeply. The landman’s chest rose significantly, to Otabek’s pure astonishment, but then nothing else happened. It might of been in vain that he repeated everything, but he could feel his heartbeat in the translucent tips of his  ear fins. This had to work; he _couldn’t_ let him die. He was just about to press his lips to the landman’s again when he wretched, a deep whooping noise and he rolled over, vomiting up seawater. Mercifully, he rolled over to the opposite side, but Otabek winced at the chest wracking coughs all the same.

It took the landman a few moments to stop spewing water and when he did he slowly sat up, looking around in confusion while rubbing his throat and chest, and wheezing. And Otabek hadn’t really thought the rest of this through. He froze, holding his breath as the landman slowly turned to face him. Well, it couldn't have been any worse than what had happened with the shark he had freed from a fishing net that morning. Landmen didn’t have sharp teeth. Eyes the colour of shallow water had been glossed over, but changed completely when they locked on him.

Landmen moved much faster on land than they did in water. And his scream could rival the loudness of a blue whale. He scrambled away, and Otabek would have laughed at the way his tiny two-fins moved if he hadn’t fallen onto his back, himself. The landman was still screaming, his voice sounded a bit raw and scratchy, but everything was unintelligible. Of course. Grumbling internally, he pushing himself back up, curling his tail behind him so he wouldn’t fall over again. What a sight he must have been, flopping around like a seal. He hated land.

The landman screamed until he started coughing, loud hacking coughs that had him holding his stomach, or where Otabek thought his stomach was. He reached out to him.

“Are you alright?”

The landman jumped again, covering his mouth with his palm as his head whipped around, hair flying everywhere, flinging bits of sand all over himself and Otabek. His eyes had gone wide. On second thought, he pulled his hand back, curling his fingers into his palm, feeling the sharp sting of his nails. The landman’s nails were short and flat, hardly any use at all. How did they catch their food? He shook his head, that wasn’t important now. He repeated his question now that he had his full attention.

The landman blinked slowly, his hand falling from his mouth. His teeth were flat too. Flat and white. How did they really survive in the wild? He coughed weakly again, now eyeing Otabek from behind clumps of damp and sandy hair. Otabek’s cheeks heated slightly. Despite his general helplessness, he was really quite pretty. Wait, was he a he? How did he tell the difference? And oh, he was talking.

Otabek blinked, tilting his head to the side. His voice was still rough, but whatever language he was speaking was fluid and throaty and almost hypnotising. He stopped speaking abruptly and muttered something quietly to himself. He didn’t understand that either. He puffed up his cheeks with air, like a puffer fish, and Otabek had to stop himself from chuckling at the comparison. The landman frowned, tugging his hair away from his face and made a rough exhaling noise. Weird, he tried to copy him, but it didn’t sound right. A landman thing maybe? He tried again, freezing when he noticed him staring, and his cheek grew hot instantly. He looked away, ear fins drooping in embarrassment.

He said something else, and Otabek’s eyes flickered towards him.

“I can’t understand you,” he mumbled, digging his nails into the sand, leaving deep, sharp indents.

He made the angry noise again, slamming once of his hands against the sand. His face was pulled into a tight frown and he shoved a finger in Otabek’s direction. He jerked back, slapping his tail against the sand to keep his balance. The landman said something else, much slower and tapped his ear, pushing back a lock of sunshine hair. He’d never seen hair that colour before. Huh, no fins there either. He felt his own ear fins twitch; he wanted to touch them, they looked stiff and very smooth, almost cute with how small they were. No, Otabek, focus, he chided himself. The landman tapped his ear again. Ear...  hear? Could he hear him? He nodded and the landman’s entire face lit up. His smile left Otabek winded as he rattled off in fast gibberish. Slowly realising that he missed something, he blinked. Oh, maybe that hadn’t been his question. He stared blankly, watching the way his mouth moved and the flash of flat teeth until the landman trailed off into silence and made the same angry noise from before.

He shouted something, kicking his two-fins against the sand, sending up a few chunks. Otabek swallowed, his stomach clenching. He looked so frustrated, and lost. Otabek tilted his head sideways, his eyes were turning wet and shiny and he pulled his lips into his mouth, biting them. Whatever watery eyes meant, it didn’t look like it was a good thing. He rolled onto his stomach, propping his top-half up with his arms and wiggling his tail closer to the landman. His cheeks heated, imagining what a farce he looked like, but if he was able to ease some of the landman’s discomfort then he didn’t care how foolish he looked. Besides it was getting dark, and for all he knew landmen may not even be able to see in the dark. He was rubbing his eyes, and making a soft wet noise with his nose. 

Water was dripping from the landman’s eyes, Otabek realised as he sat back up, curling his tail underneath him. He drew in a sharp panicked breath; he thought he had gotten rid of all the water inside of him. Gods, this was bad. He grunted softly, leaning forward. The water needed to be stopped. The landman flinched, once Otabek’s finger brushed his cheek, and Otabek alsmt drew back, but swallowed, stealing his nerves and wiped away a drop of the water. His skin was so soft, caked in salt grains, but he’d never felt anything that soft before in his life. Really, how did landmen survive on their own? They had no claws, their teeth were dull, they couldn’t see in the dark, and they were slow and very small. And now that he’d saved this one; he needed to protect it.

He dried the water on his cheeks with his palms, marvelling at how soft he was, before noticing that he was trembling. He could have slapped himself. Of course he would be cold, he was tiny and wet and the air didn’t keep any warmth without the sun. He let his hand fall from his face to his shoulder; gods, he was so small and delicate; he could span his entire upper arm with his hand. Where were his muscles? Focus, Otabek.

The landman had gone uncomfortably still, apart from his shaking. Scared. Okay, he bit the inside of his cheek. Okay, before he could warm him up he needed to show he wasn’t going to hurt him.

Communication would help and, oh. That’s what he had meant before when he pointed to his ears. He slapped his tail against the sand in annoyance. Gods he was an idiot sometimes. He had been asking if he could understand him. He took a deep breath to quell his frustration. The answer was ‘no’, but maybe they could find another way to communicate.

Making sure that the landman was looking at him, he pointed at himself. “Otabek.” He said his name slowly, making sure to enunciate all the syllables. The landman’s eyes widened, and he drew in a sharp breath. Otabek then pointed at him. “You?”

The landmand swallowed, wiping his eyes again before placing a single slender finger to his chest. “Yu - ri.”

“Yu..ri,” he repeated, nodding. A strange name, very short. But they were getting somewhere at least.

He had managed to coax Yuri into the shallow water. The water would keep him warmer than the air. It had taken a while, Yuri seemed terrified of the sea, his eyes went wide and he refused to get the tips of his two-fins wet in the swash. Otabek kept on miming shivering, rubbing his hands up and down his arms, and eventually Yuri came in. He could have just grabbed him and saved them both a lot of time; there was no way he would have been able to fight back with his size, but something told him that would have been a very bad idea.

“Cold,” Otabek repeated slowly, and Yuri tilted his head. He had stopped trembling now that he was nestled against Otabek’s chest, submerged up to his shoulders. The water was tepid, from the hot day-sun, but it was soothing against his dried-out scales and skin. He had found a shallow tide pool, shielded from the worst of the waves by a barrier of high jagged rocks. Yuri seemed to be the most calm when he couldn’t see the ocean, so Otabek had pointed him towards the shore, setting him on his lap. He barely weighed anything, especially in the water.

Yuri repeated the word, then said something in his own language. The word for ‘cold’ Otabek assumed. He wrapped his gingerly arms around his small frame, scared that he break him if he held on too tightly, but body heat was essential at a time like this. Yuri’s chest expanded greatly as he leaned into him.

“Warm,” Otabek mumbled.

Yuri giggled, a soft bubbling sound that had Otabek’s stomach fluttering. “Warm,” he repeated. Otabek fluttered his tail, smiling.

They spent a little while longer pointing at things and trading the names for them. He had learnt sky sand moon, water, sea, rocks, air, amongst others. He leaned back against a moss covered rock, bone-deep exhaustion finally catching up with him, while the bite-wound on his shoulder was throbbing steadily, making his entire arm tender. Yuri seemed tired too, his head kept on lolling to the side, but he snapped back up with a jerk every time.

“Sleep,” Otabek instructed. He would keep watch, although it was unlikely that any predators would wonder this close to shore. But Yuri wouldn’t be much use against anything with teeth, so he’d feel more comfortable if he was awake to protect the two of them.

Yuri looked back at him, frowning, and Otabek mimed ‘sleeping’ putting both hands to the side of his head and pretending to snore. Well, that was how the mer napped when they were above water.

“ _Sleep_ ,” he translated to his tongue, shaking his head.

Otabek huffed. “It’s… fine. There are no,” he growled, holding up his fingers like claws, pretending to attack. “No… uh...”

Yuri shook his head, giggling softly. “ _Sharks_?”

Otabek shrugged, wrapping his arms back around Yuri’s waist. “ _Scary?_ ”

Yuri tensed in his lap and nodded. “ _Drown_.”

“ _No,_ ” he shook his head, carefully tightening his hold. “I will protect you.” He didn’t know any of those words in Yuri’s tongue, but he seemed to understand.

“ _Yes."_

Otabek swallowed, watching as Yuri kicked his two-fins - legs - slowly back and forth making little currents and whirlpools that bumped against his scales. It must have been scary for him. Being in the big ocean when he was so small. Otabek remembered the first time he had left the pod. There was so much space, so much vast, unclaimed territory that his spine tingled and his fins fluttered. He could only imagine what it felt like for a creature that couldn't even swim and would die if they consumed water. He looked down at the top of Yuri’s head. Most of the sand had been washed away, but he could still see a few grains clinging to the very top of his head. The rest of his hair floated around them like tendrils moving in the small currents. Beautiful. He was very brave. Even when he must have been scared half to death, his eyes were still bright and fierce. And that made him more beautiful.

 

Otabek watched with heavy suspicion as a small ship made its way to the shore, rumbling and leaving a trail of frothy water and strong opposing currents in its wake. Yuri was also staring unblinkingly as it came closer. There were two landmen in it, one stood up and began waving wildly. It took Yuri a few more moments to recognise the motion;  his eyesight must have been poor too. But when he saw it, he gasped loudly, screaming and jumping to his feet, kicking up sand and water as he ran down the beach. The small ship stopped rumbling and one of the landmen jumped out, not giving a single glance to his partner as he swam the short distance to the shore. Otabek dove under the waves, darting behind a few rocks. Now, the other landman was pulling the ship ashore, and the two of them ran the length of the beach clumsily splashing in the swash. Instinctively, Otabek ducked under the water, hiding behind one of the jagged rocks. He peeped around just in time to see the taller one scoop Yuri up into his arms. His pod members maybe? Good. His stomach gurgled in discomfort as he dug his nails against the rock. It was good that they had been looking for him. Now they would take him home. He swallowed. That was a good thing. He ducked back around the rock, wondering why he felt cold all of a sudden, or why his stomach felt like it was sinking down to his caudal fins. It wasn’t like he could keep Yuri; if he stayed in the water too long, if he drank it, he would die. He couldn’t even swim. Still, his heart clenched. He should go back home too. Although, no one would be looking for him, it was common for him to be gone from the pod months at a time, like most male mer did. He needed to attend to his wound anyway. It was still throbbing and although it was clean, he didn’t want to risk it. He took one last breath through his nose, preparing to dive down, when he heard Yuri shout.

“Otabek! Otabek?!” He froze, his stomach churning like the waves that had him bobbing on the surface. “Otabek?!”

Okay, he should say goodbye at least. He peered around the rock, seeing Yuri in the shallow water sharp eyes scanning everywhere.

“Otabek!”

He took a step further in, and Otabek’s heart leapt to his throat. He shot around the rock, darting back to the shore. What was he doing? If he came into the sea he would drown.

He swam right up to the shore, ignoring the sand as it pushed his scales the wrong way when he pulled himself up the beach. Yuri bent down, sitting in the swash next to him a wide smile was on his face. He waved the other landmen over, but their eyes were wide and tinged with hostility. The shorted one jumped, making to grab Yuri away from him, but he wrapped an arm around him, pulling him to his chest and the landman froze, his dark eyes went wide. He sized the taller one up, he wasn’t much of a threat, but he would give the most trouble if it came down to it. He growled, baring his teeth at them.

“ _No_ ,” Yuri said firmly, squeezing his wrist. _“My family._ ”

He blinked at them. “ _Pod_?”

“ _Yes. My Pod._ ”

He let out a harsh breath through his nose, carefully unwinding his arms from Yuri’s waist. “ _You go home?_ ”

Yuri nodded sadly and Otabek’s stomach sank into the sea.

“ _No_ ,” he mumbled.

Yuri squeezed his wrist again, then pointed to his injured shoulder. “ _Come. Help._ ” Otabek frowned, looking from his shoulder to Yuri’s face. “ _Come_ ,” he repeated.

He blinked, taking in earnest, green eyes. He would go.

 

* * *

 

 

“Beka,” Yuri said sharply as he entered the room through the service door and made Otabek jump. “You know you’re not supposed to eat Viktor’s fish.

He grunted. Viktor’s fish were fat and slow. He looked down at the bright, orange fish in his hands. “I’m hungry.”

Yuri sighed, walking up to the edge of the aquarium and sat down with his legs hanging into the water. “You should have eaten before you came.”

He shrugged; Viktor’s fish were easier to catch. He didn’t have time to go on a hunt anyway. “It’s dead.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Fine, eat it. But no more or Viktor will stop letting you in here.”

He nodded, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh below the fish’s skull. Yuri winced, looking away. Viktor wouldn’t miss a fish or two. The only reason he knew that Otabek had been hunting his fish was that one of the cleaners had seen him kill one and told him. He had so many fish in here anyway, and the aquarium was so large that he doubted Viktor even knew all the fish he kept. He spat out the bones, before hoisting up upper half onto the tiled ground next to Yuri.

“I missed you.” He smiled, reaching out for one of his hands.

Yuri grinned, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, you too.” He took Otabek’s hand, entwining their fingers, while being mindful of the thin membrane that stretched between the base of his fingers. “What did you bring me?”

He reached down to the small pouch Yuri had given him the last time he had visited, after he had found out that mer stored important things in their mouths. He hadn’t liked it for some reason. Smiling, he held up a flat, pink shell with brown and orange spots. He had used his nail to gouge out a small hole so Yuri could add it to the bunch he had on a string around his wrist - all of which Otabek had gotten for him. He grinned as he took it.

“I don’t have one this colour yet.” He untied the string from his hand, and added the new shell. “It’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

His cheeks turned red and Otabek flicked his tail, making a small whirlpool behind him.

“Do you even hear yourself sometimes?” Yuri grumbled.

Otabek cocked his head. “Yes.”

He nudged his shoulder with his thigh.

“I actually have something for you too,” he said softly. “But uh, first, let’s get you some food.”

“There’s food here-”

“Beka, I’m serious, if you eat any more of Viktor’s fish he’s not going to let you back in here, then we’ll have to meet in the marina." Otabek wrinkled his nose. The docks were too high above the water there and the boats had a weird smell that made his head hurt. He could swim right into it, but he much preferred the aquarium, even if he had to find a few of Viktor’s workers to carry him in every time.

“Viktor doesn’t care,” he argued. “He thinks I’m pretty.” He had told him that a while ago. He liked how the red bits at the edges of his scales contrasted with the teal.

Yuri scoffed. “It doesn’t matter how pretty you are, if you eat all his fish he’s going to throw you out.” Otabek grumbled. “What do you want to eat?”

“Crab.”

Yuri sighed, standing up and letting the water drip from his legs. “I’ll be right back.”

Otabek watched him leave through the service door then dove backwards under the water. The first night Yuri had brought him to his home, he hadn’t liked the aquarium. He didn’t like the glass and the idea that someone could see his every movement. He hid behind the rocks in the corner, but then he realised that he could see Yuri through the glass as well and as long as he was in the room on the other side, they could always see each other.

He darted from one end of the aquarium to the other, swimming so fast that he was winded when he resurfaced.

“Exercising?” Yuri asked in amusement as he sat back down at the edge of the tank.

“What’s that?”

He blinked, taken off guard. “Uh, it’s when you move around a lot to make yourself tired so you don’t get fat.”

He frowned. “Humans do that a lot?”

“Uh, some.”

They were really strange creatures. He shook his head, pulling himself back up onto the floor. “What do you have for me?” Yuri grinned handing him a bowl of crabs and shrimp. He swallowed one of the shrimps only after chewing it twice. “What _else_?”

“Uh,” Yuri bit his bottom lip, suddenly looking nervous. “Well, it’s not exactly some _thing._ ” Otabek paused crunching his crab leg. “I have to show you.”

He stood up, breathing deeply. Otabek set his bowl down, staring expectantly. Slowly, Yuri rolled his shirt off. Otabek didn’t understand why humans wore clothes, it seemed unnecessary, but he supposed their thin skin and lack of scales weren’t much protection. He bent down, shedding his pants and then the smaller pants underneath and before Otabek had the chance to appreciate his bare body he slipped into the water.

It took Otabek all of a heartbeat to react. He darted forward, wrapping his arms around Yuri to keep his head above the water.

“What are you doing?” he hissed, his heart was beating frantically, and the fish he had eaten earlier was trying to make its way back up.

“No, wait,” Yuri grabbed his wrists, attempting to push his arms away. Otabek didn’t budge, he didn’t even think Yuri had the strength to uncurl his fingers from around him. “I can…” he huffed. “I can swim now.”

Otabek narrowed his eyes. “What?”

Yuri’s cheeks were turning red. “I asked Viktor to teach me.” He coughed. “I don’t need your help to stay up any more. Look.”

Hesitantly, Otabek let him go, moving backwards to give him room, but stayed close enough to grab him just in case. He was moving his legs funnily and his arms went in and out causing the water to ripple around him, but he was keeping his head up on his own. He smiled widely.

“So, landmen _can_ swim.”

“Yeah.”

His smile widened. “Swim with me.” He made to duck under the water, but Yuri yelled.

“Wait, I can’t go under!”

He paused. “But you said you can swim.”

“Not like that.”

“I don’t understand.”

He sighed, floundering a bit as he swam back to the edge of the aquarium. “I’d have to hold my breath… like a dolphin,”

“Yes.” Otabek nodded. “You don’t have gills.”

“And I… well I - going under is scary.”

Otabek shook his head. “No.” He ducked under to show him, doing tight circles around his legs then dove to the bottom of the tank, touching the sand to make it puff up in a cloud before darting back to the surface. “See?”

“You have a tail and gills.” Yuri grumbled, reaching out to wrap his arms around his neck.

Otabek held him close with an arm around the small of his back. His skin was always so soft. Soft and warm. “And?” he asked, pressing his nose to the side of his jaw.

“I’ll drown if I go under.”

“No.” He shook his head, running the back of his finger against Yuri’s cheek and traced the curve of his lips, before slowly craning his neck forward and joining their mouths. “I won’t let you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the [post](http://sarah-yyy.tumblr.com/post/168457143218) that started it all.


End file.
